UPDATED: Dead man found in car, was shot

Pottstown police responded to Jefferson Avenue near N. Franklin St. where one person was found dead in a vehicle pictured here, late Thursday night. Police on the scene are treating the situation as a homicide investigation. Photo by John Strickler The Mercury

Pottstown police responded to Jefferson Avenue near N. Franklin St. where one person was found dead in a vehicle late Thursday night. Police on the scene are treating the situation as a homicide investigation. Photo by John Strickler The Mercury

(UPDATED 11:40 a.m.) POTTSTOWN — The victim of a fatal shooting Thursday night has been identified.

Steven Mitchell, 20, was found dead in a car in the 400 block of Jefferson Avenue.

Mitchell died from a single gunshot wound to the torso, according to Dr. Walter Hofman, the Montgomery County Coroner. Hofman was not able to confirm where Mitchell lived.

Mitchell’s death was ruled a homicide, Hofman said.

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Around 9:52 p.m. Thursday, borough police officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle and found Mitchell dead in the front seat of a four-door sedan.

The car was parked near the curb in front of several houses just east of the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and N. Franklin Street.

Mitchell was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a press release from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

While officers from the Pottstown Police Department and the Montgomery County Detectives unit investigated, the 300 and 400 blocks of Jefferson Avenue were taped off.

During the intial investigationg, several officers examined the car and some were seen sifting through grass that ran along the 300 block of Jefferson Avenue.

The joint investigation with the Pottstown Police Department and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office is ongoing.

Anyone with information should call borough police at 610-970-6570 of the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.

(UPDATED 10:01 a.m.) POTTSTOWN — A 20-year-old man is dead after a shooting Thursday night in the borough.

A joint investigation between the Pottstown Police Department and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office revealed the victim, “apparently suffered at least one gunshot wound.” He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The identity of the victim has not been released at this time.

Around 9:52 p.m., officers responded to the 400 block of Jefferson Avenue near N. Franklin Street for a report of a suspicious vehicle, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office.

When officers arrived, they found a man in the front seat of a gold four-door sedan.

The car was parked near the curb in front of several houses.

During the investigation, officers taped off the 300 and 400 blocks of Jefferson Avenue. Several investigators were sifting through grass that ran along the edge of the road.

The official cause and manner of death is pending an autopsy by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.

Check back from more details.

EARLIER VERSION OF THE STORY

POTTSTOWN — Borough police and county detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding a man’s death Thursday night.

Police on scene said they are treating the situation as a homicide investigation, but only an autopsy can determine the cause and manner of death.

Around 10:30 p.m. police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle on Jefferson Avenue.

When officers arrived, they found a man inside a gold sedan in the 400 block of the street just east of Franklin Street.

The victim, whose identity has not been released, was in the driver’s seat. The car was parked near the curb in front of several houses.

During the investigation, officers taped off the 300 and 400 blocks of Jefferson Avenue and investigators from Montgomery County were called to the scene as well as the county coroner’s office.